Future Stories

The Future Stories Art Mobs will be carried out for the second time to bring colour and life to the urban spaces of Espoo using the means of art and culture. The Art Mobs are light, free and transient artistic experiences that spread across urban spaces and public places. They are intended for everyone and invite reflection on society and the world. The Art Mobs may take various forms, such as a concert of a busker performing their original compositions at a metro station, a poetry reciter on a park bench, live art by a performance artist at a bus stop or an artist creating croquis drawings at a shopping centre. The theme for the 2026 Art Mobs is building peace and hope. The emphasis of this year’s selections will be on unexpected elements and the use of public urban spaces. The art mobs will be showcased in the urban spaces and public places in August 2026.

NOTE!
Some of the works are weather-dependent, so please follow the website and CultureEspoo’s social media channels for possible changes.

• Vieraslaji (Alien Species) – Other Nature art series(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 5, 6–7 PM and Aug 22, 2–3 PM | Westend Beach
Vieraslaji is a participatory performance in which the artist embodies an alien species that has appeared in Finland as a result of climate change. The species can be observed, and visitors may try to communicate with it if they wish. The performance explores encounters with otherness in a rapidly changing environment and asks how we truly face what is unfamiliar.

• Radicalis 1.0 – Noora Juppi(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 5, 5 PM | Lillhem Park, Suurpelto
Radicalis 1.0 is a contemporary performance combining pole dance, butoh, and contemporary dance. It examines the relationship between mental health, the accelerating pace of life, and the demands of continuous growth. The work parallels societal and economic growth with biological processes, exploring the connection between humans and plants, decay, and regrowth.
 

• Toivo asuu täällä (Hope Lives Here) – Sananhaltija (external link, opens in a new window)| Aug 8, 12–4 PM | Tapio Square, Tapiola
Toivo asuu täällä is a site-specific and participatory text-based artwork built from thoughts, wishes, and dreams written by local residents at Tapio Square. During the event, Sananhaltija handwrites texts about hope on large sheets of paper and invites passers-by to participate in creating a shared textual landscape.

• Just Stop – React Public Performances (external link, opens in a new window)| Aug 11 OR Aug 27, 4–5 PM (to be confirmed later) | Majurinkulma Bus Stop, Perkkaa
Just Stop is a performance that combines dance and theatre and takes place at a bus stop. It explores the bus stop as a place where strangers gather briefly in a small shared space.
 

• Penkki (The Bench) – TeatteriQo(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 12, 10 AM–12 PM, Espoonlahti, Merikansantie 4, at the bench |
Aug 13, 4–6 PM, Matinkylä, Kalamajan Polku, corner of Anjanpolku, at the bench
Penkki is a series of miniature object-theatre and puppet-theatre performances that reveal the poetry of the public bench in all its modesty, as an image of everyday life. Passers-by are invited to pause and experience a performance lasting 2.5 minutes.

• Lähettiläs – Viestejä toivosta ja rauhasta (The Messenger – Messages of Hope and Peace) – Mammu Rauhala(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 14–15, 2–5 PM | Espoo Centre & Leppävaara
Lähettiläs – Viestejä toivosta ja rauhasta is Mammu Rauhala’s participatory public-space performance. A silent messenger moves through the city, inviting people to pause and reflect on messages of hope and peace. Visitors can write or draw their own messages on small protest signs, which gradually become part of the artwork.

• Madame T: Pelissä elämä - Let´s spin the Fortune Wheel with Madame T! (Madame T: Life Is the Game – Let’s Spin the Fortune Wheel with Madame T!) – Taina Mäki-Iso(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 20 | Leppävaara Service Centre & Sello Library
Madame T welcomes guests into her surprising yet safe gaming den. Clown artist Taina Mäki-Iso offers interactive and participatory close-up clowning for small groups at a time.

• Fillaripianisti (The Cycling Pianist) – Fillaripiano (external link, opens in a new window)| Aug 23, 10:30 AM–3 PM | Nokkala Lighthouse – Tapiola – Kivenlahti – Leppävaara
Fillaripianisti Aarno Paakkari has combined two things he loves: the piano and the bicycle. An acoustic piano travels lightly from place to place while the performer plays. The Cycling Pianist’s performance is sure to bring a smile to your face!
 

• Nuppuensemble: Spa Lounge – Nuppuensemble(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 26, 11 AM–6 PM | Metro stations between Tapiola and Soukka
Spa Lounge is an immersive artwork created for metro stations and designed for the whole family. Visitors are invited into a relaxing and joyful waiting space. A small bathtub bubbles with fabric mist, light, and soap bubbles, while a lounge chair invites visitors to stretch out and rest for a moment.

• Kollektiivi Säie: Vastavoima – rauhansopimus luonnon kanssa (Counterforce – A Peace Treaty with Nature) – Kollektiivi Säie(external link, opens in a new window) | Aug 29 | Tapiola Centre
Vastavoima is a large, gateway-like spatial plant sculpture that invites residents to experience art physically and to participate in its creation. The audience is invited to tame the sculpture’s primal structure by placing slow-flower blooms and wild plants into it.

• Rauhanliikekannallepano (Peace Movement Mobilization) – Toisissa tiloissa Collective (external link, opens in a new window)| Aug 29, 12–1:30 PM | In front of Ainoa Shopping Centre & Tapionpuisto Park
Rauhanliikekannallepano is a communal and playful performance art event. Together we perform collective bodily actions, or “peace movements.” The movements are accompanied by live brass music that enhances the atmosphere. There are many ways to participate, either by joining the peace movements or by observing them as part of the audience.
 

• Teetä ja biisejä (Tea and Tunes) – Katri O (external link, opens in a new window)| Time and location to be confirmed later
What would it feel like to hear a song created just for you? Singer-songwriter Katri O offers passers-by tea and tunes. Pause for a moment, take a seat, and enjoy a cup of tea. At the same time, you may hear a song dedicated to you, inspired by your wish, thought, memory, or current mood.

• Seuraava pysäkki: Tulevaisuus – osallistava yhteisöanimaatioteos (Next Stop: The Future – A Participatory Community Animation Artwork) – Saara Malmström (external link, opens in a new window)| Time and location to be confirmed later
What will the Espoo of the future look like? Come and help create the answer as part of a collaborative animation artwork!

Future Stories took place for the first time in summer 2023 as an environmental artwork located in Espoonlahti. Love Letters to Nature, a collection of five environmental art pieces by the art collective SISU, was inspired by the love letters written by the city’s residents to nature. In 2024, a mural was painted on the Kivenlahti underpass. The piece was created by the art collective Mimmit peinttaa in collaboration with local residents. The purpose of the mural was to make the area more inviting and to prevent intentional vandalism of the tunnel.